Bnf Site Richelieu
Paris
Exhibition
Louise Bourgeois. Extreme Tension
From 20 October 2026 to 21 February 2027, the BnF Richelieu is dedicated to Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) with an exhibition entirely focused on her graphic work: drawings, prints, portfolios, and artist's books. This is the first exhibition devoted to the artist in a Parisian public institution since 2008, and the fir...
Paris
Quick view
A fast English reading of the key exhibition signals already available in the catalogue.
20 October 2026 to 21 February 2027
Upcoming
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Overview
The shortest useful way to understand what this exhibition is about.
From 20 October 2026 to 21 February 2027, the BnF Richelieu is dedicated to Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) with an exhibition entirely focused on her graphic work: drawings, prints, portfolios, and artist's books. This is the first exhibition devoted to the artist in a Parisian public institution since 2008, and the fir...
The BnF Richelieu is dedicating an exhibition centered on Louise Bourgeois' graphic work to her from 20 October 2026 to 21 February 2027. For the first time, the fonds of the BnF and Center Pompidou are brought together...
Editorial context
A slightly wider English reading when the source page is still concise.
On Expo Paris, Louise Bourgeois. Extreme Tension is most useful when it is read not only as a single event but as part of a broader route through Bnf Site Richelieu, where exhibitions, artists and editorial themes can be compared quickly in English. This page becomes easier to place when it is connected to the strongest editorial routes already available on the site.
For an English reader, the point of this page is also practical: it clarifies the venue, dates and booking context, then opens clear paths toward related exhibitions, artists and subjects so that the visit does not remain isolated. 3 related exhibition pages are already close enough to help compare tone, period or venue.
Why go
The strongest reasons to open the page, compare it, or book it.
Editorial angle
Because we tend to believe we know Louise Bourgeois through her monumental spiders, and here we discover the mental workshop that preceded them: a paper work that is obsessive, where the line serves as nerve. Two fonds never before brought together and Turnin...
At the heart of the journey, Extreme Tension (2007), which gives its name to the exhibition: eleven large sheets mixing print, drawing, and handwritten text, a frontal testimony on an aging body and pain. In echo, the m...
The curatorial approach (Marie-Laure Bernadac, with Cécile Pocheau-Lesteven for the BnF and Anne Monfort-Tanguy for the Center Pompidou): to show the interdependence of drawing and print in Louise Bourgeois's work. Discovered as early as 1...
Useful links
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Visit description
Visit description
From 20 October 2026 to 21 February 2027, the BnF Richelieu is dedicated to Louise Bourgeois (1911–2010) with an exhibition entirely focused on her graphic work: drawings, prints, portfolios, and artist's books. This is the first exhibition devoted to the artist in a Parisian public institution since 2008, and the fir.
What to look for
Because we tend to believe we know Louise Bourgeois through her monumental spiders, and here we discover the mental workshop that preceded them: a paper work that is obsessive, where the line serves as nerve. Two fonds never before brought together and Turnin. At the heart of the journey, Extreme Tension (2007), which gives its name to the exhibition: eleven large sheets mixing print, drawing, and handwritten text, a frontal testimony on an aging body and pain.
Practical reading
Louise Bourgeois. Extreme Tension is listed with its main venue, date and booking signals so the page can support planning as well as editorial browsing.
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Cultural context
Editorial frame
On Expo Paris, Louise Bourgeois. Extreme Tension is most useful when it is read not only as a single event but as part of a broader route through Bnf Site Richelieu, where exhibitions, artists and editorial themes can be compared quickly in English. This page becomes easier to place when it is connected to the strongest editorial routes already available on the site.
How it connects
For an English reader, the point of this page is also practical: it clarifies the venue, dates and booking context, then opens clear paths toward related exhibitions, artists and subjects so that the visit does not remain isolated. 3 related exhibition pages are already close enough to help compare tone, period or venue.
03
Works and visual cues
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